


Runaway Love

by redqueenoctavia



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Multiple chapters, Runaway Bride, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-24 20:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14362776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redqueenoctavia/pseuds/redqueenoctavia
Summary: Octavia Blake is about to marry Atom, her handsome and successful fiancé. However, on her wedding day, things go awry and she has a change of heart. Meanwhile, all Lincoln wanted was an easy day of work on his side job as a private chauffeur, but he had no idea how much his life would change when the bride he’d just delivered at the wedding venue rushed back into his limousine.





	1. Wedding Day

Octavia Blake looked at her reflection in the mirror. 

Her bedroom had been turned into a bridal suite in the past five hours.

The hair and make-up teams had come, done a pretty outstanding job and left. Clarke – dressed in her golden bridesmaid’s gown – had hurried around the room, her meticulously prepared Wedding Planner in hand, making sure everything was perfect. But she’d left, too.

Now, she stood all alone in her room once again.

She took in her wedding dress. For the past few months, the idea of getting married had seemed so far away.

It was all coming true. It was real. She was a bride.

This was a wedding worthy of a princess. She should be happy... Every little detail was perfect – from the table placements to the monogram letters of the bride and groom’s initials everywhere. Clarke really had outdone herself.

Octavia knew she should be happy. It was her wedding day, for Heaven’s sake!

But she felt as if she were trapped in a gilded cage.

She tried to put on her best smile, but it felt too forced. 

 _Why_? she wondered.

Why was she marrying someone she didn’t love?

She did care about Atom. He had been a friend of the family for a while, he was even one of Bellamy’s closest friends and now even business partner. They had started dating in freshman year of college. They had gone out together, had a lot of sex… your run of the mill college relationship. Her fondness for his sweet-natured, kind, goofy spirit had kept her around.

After graduation, they had moved in together. It had seemed like the next logical step. And, after that, getting married just seemed to be the expected thing to do. So when Atom had proposed, she'd said yes.

“Look at you!”

Octavia smiled at the sound of her brother's voice. It was the first genuine smile of the day.

“You look so beautiful, O.”

Octavia was the person he loved most in the world.

And today – her wedding day, one of the most important days in a woman’s life – he would be the one to walk her down the aisle and give her away. In just a few hours, his baby sister would be married to one of his closest friends.

“Clarke’s the one to thank for all of this,” Octavia said, with a wide gesture at herself and the room. “She did everything.”

“But there’s something missing.”

His sister frowned and looked down at herself.

“What?”

“What’s the saying again?” he wondered aloud, as if he didn’t know the answer. “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

Despite recognizing the old wedding tradition, Octavia was still confused, but she let him go on.

“Well, you already have something new,” he told her, nodded at her gown. “Something blue,” he continued, taking her hand and examining her engagement ring – a gorgeous, big sapphire surrounded by diamonds. “And something borrowed,” Bellamy concluded, pointing to the Clarke’s mother’s broach that would secure her short white silk cape.

Bellamy reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and retrieved a small rectangular box. He handed it to Octavia.

She opened the box and was stunned speechless.

It was their mother’s necklace. It was a small, pretty thing. A shimmering opal in the shape of a teardrop hung from a delicate gold chain.

“Bell…”

Octavia was speechless.

“Now you have something old.”

There were few memories of her Aurora without her necklace.

“It’s yours now,” Bellamy told her. “I was saving it for a special occasion. Guess this is as special as it’ll ever get.”

No matter the hardships they’d gone through, Aurora had refused to sell her mother’s necklace. She’d pawned it once to feed her children, but as soon as she’d met their step-father, he’d gone out to get it back as a proof of his ‘undying love’. Octavia shoved thoughts of that man from her mind.

“I wish Mom were here.”

“Me, too,” Bellamy admitted. “She would’ve been so proud of you. I am.”

Octavia tried her best to keep the tears at best.

“Don’t you dare cry. Clarke’s gonna kill me if I ruin your make-up.”

“I’m not crying!” she laughed.

He held his arms open and Octavia walked straight into the, burying her face on his strong shoulder. The Blake siblings held each other tightly for a moment, letting all emotion flow between them.

Then, when they parted, Bellamy took the necklace in his hands and Octavia turned around, back to face the mirror. He placed the jewel around her neck.

The smile she’d had while looking at the necklace dimmed and faded.

Octavia still looked sad.

Deep down, he could feel it. There was something wrong with her. He knew his little sister, he’d practically raised her by himself after their mother’s death. Bellamy knew her heart and mind like they were his own.

“Octavia.”

“Hmm?” she answered absentmindedly.

“Are you okay?”

She was taken aback by his question. She should’ve known he would see right through her. Octavia tried to fake her way out of it and smiled.

“Yeah. I’m just tired. You know, I think the stress of it all is just getting to me.” 

The wedding between Octavia Blake and Atom North was an event to be remember. There would be hundreds of guests watching them tie the knot. It would be perfectly normal for anyone to be nervous or agitated.

“Are you sure?”

The massive teal colored sapphire on her ring finger caught her eye. She studied for the millionth time. When he’d proposed, Atom had told her that the color of the sapphire had reminded him of her eyes. Just then, she was reminded of why she cared about him. Atom was the sweetest man. She would never find a better man.

Octavia nodded. “Absolutely.”

Bellamy took the carefully arranged bouquet and handed it to his sister. He held out his arm.

“Let’s go, then.”

*******

Lincoln arrived at the luxurious house where he was supposed to pick up the bride and her brother to take them to the wedding venue.

He got out of the limousine and walked around it, waiting beside the car’s door, waiting for the passengers.

Not long after, the massive double wooden doors opened and a tall man came out. Lincoln recognized him as Bellamy Blake – the brother. He held out his hand, which was taken by a woman. Then, the bride exited the house.

The sight of her made Lincoln lose his breathe.

She looked like an angel.

A sad angel, he realized.

Weren't brides meant to be glowing on their wedding day? Octavia Blake looked like she was going to be sick. Was there something wrong with her?

He couldn’t help but wonder if this had been an arranged marriage, a business negotiation. Did those still exist?

Lincoln opened the door to let the beautiful bride inside. Her brother helped her enter the limousine and walked around the car to enter through the other side while Lincoln closed her door.

During the entire way, Octavia glanced out the window, feeling empty.

They arrived at the venue, where she would declare her vows and sign her life away to Atom too soon. Way too soon.

She and Bellamy waited inside until their chauffeur opened her door.

At the entrance of the venue, Bellamy helped her remove the broach and the silk coat that covered her shoulders.

Octavia took his arm again and looked down at the aisle in front of her.

On the other end, Atom waited patiently, a bright smile on his face.

She froze like a deer in headlights.

 _No_.

She couldn’t do this. Not to him, not to herself…

“I am so sorry,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on the altar ahead. She looked terrified. She looked at her brother. “I can't do this, Bell.”

Despite his shocked expression, she could see the understanding in his eyes.

Bellamy nodded.

Trembling, she dropped the bouquet and ran.

There was nothing Bellamy could do to stop her, nothing he _would_ do to stop her. So, he just stood there as he watched her flee.

*******

After dropping off the bride and her brother at the venue, Lincoln took off his seatbelt and settled in into the driver’s seat.

He guessed the whole ordeal would take a few hours, so he'd brought his sketchbook along. The ceremony itself would take about an hour - from the time he dropped her off to the end of the vows, then he was to take the blissful newlyweds to the reception, and who knows however many hours later, he would take them away to the airport to send them off on their honeymoon.

It would be somewhere fancy, no doubt.

Lincoln had done some research on the family, like he always did for the families he worked for. He liked to know who he would be working for before he did the job. No idea when he might be hired by a mob boss or something similiar…

They were big money people. The bride was the younger sister of Bellamy Blake - the young and successful owner of the Blake Corporation. Atom, the groom, was his business partner and the heir to a giant fortune. 

Between her family and her soon-to-be husband's, the bride and whatever offspring they might have were set for life.

Just thinking about so many dollar signs made his head spin.

 _Damn_...

Lincoln had never been rich and he'd never yearned for money. What he had, no matter how little, has always been enough. He had always believed that the real value of people was on their hearts, not their wallets.

This side gig didn't pay a lot, but along with his main job as a car mechanic, it was more than enough to make ends meet and live comfortably.

His mind drifted to the bride as he sketched. Octavia Blake was the most beautiful bride he’d ever seen. When he focused back on the sketchbook, he’d seen that he’d drawn her. The smooth lines of her face, her sad eyes…

Lincoln was lightly drawing in his book when he heard the commotion outside. No sooner did he lift his head to see what was going on, than the door to back of the limo opened. 

The beautiful bride got inside, a crazed look in her eyes. 

Out of breath, she commanded: “Just drive!”

** End of Chapter 1 **


	2. The Runaway Bride

Lincoln looked at her befuddled, hesitating - not believing this could be happening. 

“Please! Just go!” the beautiful bride begged.

There were people beginning to gather at the entrance of the wedding venue. 

Still unsure of what to do, Lincoln took off. He would probably get in trouble for it, but he couldn’t leave this poor woman there.

Octavia was desperately gulping for breath.

Taking advantage of the limousine's bar, she picked up a bottle of Scotch with trembling hands, poured into a snifter and drank a big gulp.

The tears were welling up

Lincoln dared taking his eyes off the road to look at her through the rear-view mirror.

“So, huh…” he began, unsure of what to say. “Where to?”  

She looks at him, a lost look on her face. She started sobbing.

“Hey, hey. Please don’t cry,” he begged. “Do you want me to take you home?”

Home. Where all the wedding stuff would be, along with her worried and judgmental friends.

_Oh, God! What had she done?_

She'd just left Atom there at the altar, in front of all their friends. She couldn’t go back. Not now, not anytime soon… How would she face her friends and family after that?

“No!” she shouted. Regaining herself, she tried again, calmer this time, “No.”

The very last thing she needed right now was to scare the poor chauffeur. She’d already dragged him into this mess.

Lincoln drove for a couple of minutes.

Then, he slowly brought the car to a halt and looked back at her.

“How about some food?” he asked gently.

Octavia stared at him a moment and nodded.

She waited in the car, alone with her thoughts, while Lincoln went to Burger Shack. When he returned with their burgers, he joined her in the backseat of the limousine.

“I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got the Classic. Hope that's okay.”

“It’s fine,” she assured him.

Octavia took one bite of the burger, then closed her eyes and moaned.

“Oh my God,” she said around a mouthful. “It's been a while since I've had one of these.”

He looked amused at her expression and she smiled shyly.

“Sorry. I'd forgotten how much I love it.”

Lincoln chuckled. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you like it.”

She sighed. “You’re being so nice to me. I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Lincoln.”

“Lincoln,” she repeated, savoring it. She smiled. “It’s a good name,” she decided. “I’m Octavia.”

“I know,” he says gently. “Your brother is technically paying me for today’s event.”

Lincoln was afraid the reminder of her Wedding gone wrong would make her cry again. 

“Today didn’t really go how I expected it to.” Octavia looked at him and grinned. “I bet things didn't go the way you expect either, huh?”

“Did I expect to be helping the runaway bride? Hmm, no.”

They laughed. 

He stopped short at the sight of her smile, the sound of her laughter... She was so beautiful. Back to business, he decided.

“Where do you want me to take you?”

Octavia’s smile faded and she looked lost and forlorn

“I don't know,” she confessed. “But I can't go back, not yet... I can't face them.”

Lincoln had an idea and was saying it out loud before he could convince himself that it was a bad idea.

“Listen, I know we just met,” he began. “But I want to help you. You can crash at my place for however long you need.”

She frowned.

“You’d do that? Invite a complete stranger to stay at your place?”

“Yeah. Like I said, I want to help.”

Octavia was pretty sure she shouldn’t accept the offer. After all, wasn’t there a rule about not talking to strangers and definitely _not_ going anywhere with them? But, despite what her logical brain thought, she trusted Lincoln.

Besides, she could use a place to wash up, change out of that damn dress, get some rest… And some time to sort things out and figure what she was going to do next.

Overcome by his kindness, she made her decision.

“Okay.”

*******

They reached Lincoln’s apartment about fifteen minutes later.

As she was getting out of the limousine, Octavia tripped on her large dress and fell knees first on the graveled ground.

“Ow!” she exclaimed in pain and frustration. “Crap! Damn dress!”

Lincoln ran to her side and helped her stand slowly.

“Are you okay?”

“Sure,” she lied.

He glanced down at her dress and saw the small stain of blood. _Double crap_!

Without a second thought, Lincoln locked the car and picked Octavia. up into his big strong arms. “Come on.”

“I’m okay, really.”

“I’ll be the judge of that once I look at it.”

Lincoln set her down on the ground for a quick moment while he opened the door, then pulled up again with no effort. She knew she didn’t weigh a lot, but she was a damn grown woman. He didn’t even break a sweet.

He carried her inside.

When Octavia Blake imagined herself crossing the threshold on her wedding day, she sure as hell didn’t expect it to be in the chauffeur’s arms.

As soon as he stepped into his place, they were greeted by an excited big golden retriever.

Lincoln laughed. “That’s Max,” he explained with a smile. Then, he froze and looked back at her with a frown. “You’re not allergic, are you? I completely forgot to ask.”

Octavia was too busy petting Max lovingly to reply right away. “Hmm? Oh, no. I’m not.”

“Good. Max, down!” he ordered.

The dog loyally obeyed and Lincoln carried Octavia to the couch. He set her down carefully and went to get the first aid kit.

Without Lincoln in the room, Max jumped into her lap immediately. Octavia laughed. The gorgeous dog was just like a giant puppy. All happiness and mischief.

Lincoln returned to the room with the kit and was about to tell Max to get down again. Octavia intervened. “It’s okay,” she told him, a huge smile on her face. She loved Max already.

While Octavia petted the dog and let him lick her face, Lincoln sat opposite her on the coffee table.

“May I?” he asked, pointing to her injured knee.

Octavia nodded.

He took her leg gently and placed it on top of his. His hands trembled when he lifted up her dress to reveal the wound on her right knee. Both of them were breathing heavily, hoping that the other wouldn’t notice.

She had run away from her fancy wedding, left everyone hanging, including her boyfriend of ten years and now she was shacking up with the Limo driver. Who, by the way, had his hand on her leg. For health reasons, sure. But still… Could this possibly get any more awkward?

Lincoln took a piece of cotton, applied some disinfectant solution to it and pressed it gently to Octavia injury.

She winced.

“Sorry,” Lincoln apologized with a grimace.

She held on to Max tighter. The dog comforted her by laying his head down on her chest and whining.

Good news. The blood had stopped.

He finished cleaning the wound and applying ointment, and made a simple gauze dressing on it. Then, Lincoln set her leg back down gently.

“Can you stand?”

Slowly, Octavia pulled herself up on her sore leg.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thank you.”

Lincoln smiled. “No problem.”

He took the kit and left the room to store it away again. Max nudged her hand, begging for more attention. Octavia caressed the dog’s soft fur again.

Her mouth felt dry. It was probably from all the heavy breathing and almost drooling over Lincoln. He returned to the room.

“Can I have a glass of water please?” she asked.

“Sure.”

To test her sore leg, she followed him to the kitchen, still limping slightly.

While Lincoln went to retrieve a glass from the cupboard, Octavia looked around the small kitchen. It had been years since she’d been in a house this small.

Lincoln gestured grandly at the place, the water in his hand.

“This is the kitchen,” he said with a smirk.

Octavia lifted an eyebrow.

“I’d gathered that, thanks.”

She glanced at the fridge. The door was crowded with pictures, schedules, even recipes… Octavia saw a picture of Lincoln with a pretty girl with brown skin and dreadlocks, and felt her heart sank.

_What the hell, Octavia?_

Although, to be honest, she should have expected this new turn of events. Lincoln had a girlfriend, of course he did. Look at him!

He handed her the water glass.

Octavia took it gratefully. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a beat, a moment when they just stared at each other.

Then, she spoke.

“Your girlfriend's cute,” Octavia stated, trying to sound nonchalant.

It shouldn’t bother her. But there it was. She took a drink of the water, drinking to shut those feelings down.

He frowned. “My gir... What?”

Octavia pointed to the picture.

“No.” Lincoln just laughed. “That’s not– That's my sister, Gaia.”

“Oh.” She knew she probably shouldn’t feel good about it. “Okay.”

Lincoln grew serious.

“Will you be okay by yourself for a little while?” he asked.

She whips her head to look at him, eyes wide.

“You're leaving?”

_Was he serious?_

“I have to return the limousine.”

“Oh. Of course. Do you have a car? How are you coming back?”

“I have my motorcycle over there.”

“You drive a motorcycle.”

“Yeah. I was supposed to deliver the limo right after finishing the event, but I'm don't think my motorcycle and that dress would've been a great idea.”

Octavia laughed lightly. “You’re probably right.”

Lincoln took the Limo’s keys and headed for the front door.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised. “Just… make yourself at home.”

After he’d left, Octavia set about exploring the house.

The apartment was small and quaint, yes. But there was life in it. She could feel Lincoln’s presence, she could find little pieces of Lincoln everywhere.

Suddenly, something caught her eye.

Octavia limped toward the opened book and stopped short at what she was seeing.

Yet another thing she was discovering about her host.

Lincoln drew.

And very well, she might had.

She picked up the sketchbook and flipped through its pages, finding drawings of Max, his sister, the Empire State Building, a lake, a forest… Then, she noticed another black book on the desk. She about to pick it up when she saw two more books on the shelf in front of her.

She chuckled.

How many sketchbooks did Lincoln have? She would have to remember to ask him.

Octavia let out a sigh.

Being by herself, Octavia began to feel completely worn out. She hadn't slept at all the previous night and the weariness was beginning to weight her down. Exhausted beyond words, she lay down of the couch, adjusting the large wedding dress as best as she could, closed her eyes and let herself drift off… hoping everything would turn out okay.

**Author's Note:**

> → **[Chapter 1 - Aesthetic](http://okteiviaenlinkon.tumblr.com/post/173083092232/runaway-love-chapter-1-wedding-day)**


End file.
